Saturday, November 15, 2014

A Fork in the Road

It has been a very busy couple of weeks. The puppies went in for BAER hearing tests and first puppy vaccinations. Along with a trip last week to Oregon to be evaluated by AKC Judge and puppy elevator Pat Hastings.



The hearing tests went as expected. Both girls are bilateral hearing, meaning they hear in both ears. Nod was found to have no hearing in his left ear, unilateral hearing. While this does not in any way keep him from being a wonderful companion, it is my feeling as a breeder that with Nod also having a blue eye I would not want to use him in my future breeding program.



The puppy evaluations were interesting. While I value the opinions of other breeders, in the end it is my decision to make as far as which puppy goes where and for what purpose.





It was the decision of myself and my co-breeder that Nod be placed in a companion home. Now named Bentley, he is going to have a wonderful life with new owners Vivian and Murray McMahon in WA. Bently has an older brother, Frankie, from one of my previous co-bred litters in CA. 




Wynken, now Summer, is going to be living in CA with co-breeder Claudia LaMonica. We will be keeping an eye on her and watching to see if she has show potential.





Finally Blynken, now Soleil will be staying here at Smiling Dals where we will be watching her grow up in hopes that she too will have a future show career.


It was so much fun having this litter. Even though there were only three puppies, we feel there is promise in the two females Summer and Soleil. But only time will tell. We did have wonderful temperaments and awesome personalities in these three. None of them were phased by the various trips in the car or their time spent in crates.

They were outgoing and friendly with everyone they met. Dr. Debra Mack who performed the hearing tests, my friend Kristi who met me in Boise to help with that, my co-breeder Claudia whom they had not met before, Pat Hastings who evaluated them and the numerous others they encountered along their journey from birth to this fork in the road where they have all gone their separate ways.

Each has a journey ahead and I can only pray that as a breeder I have done everything I possibly could to prepare each puppy for his or her new life.


Thursday, October 23, 2014

6 weeks and a day

The puppies turned 6 weeks old yesterday. John and I were both busy most of the day with annual vet visits with the 4 big kids, BG, Whoopi, Jack and Molly. Then there were other errands so the day just got away from us and so no photos were taken.

Today I can see some changes going on with the puppies. I tried using something to focus their attention on. (They really like peanut butter!). Their rears seem to be solidifying a bit and the pups are standing fairly straight as can be seen from behind.

                                      
Looking good here...^


A bit too widely spread but still nice and straight...^


Although Nod is leaning, his rear is still fairly straight...^

Fronts, however are a different story. Right now the pups are still unsure of what is happening although they did like the bait. But are still trying to hang on to the towel underneath them and thereby making their fronts appear quite easty/westy. Which would not be totally unheard of at this age but it is not as bad as it looks. For obvious reasons those photos are not shown here.

Faces are of course still cute and the pups are carrying their ears well for the most part.



Blynken looks a bit like Whoopi, who is shown in the background trying to steal some cheese!


Trying to stack we are still having some degree of difficulty but here are those pics.




It is interesting to see the puppies change from week to week. Last week I was really liking the pics of Nod. He just seemed to show the best top line at that time. This week I am really liking Wynken best as her pic shows a better top line and tail set than last week.

I think my overall fav is still Blynken. Her pics do not do her justice as she stands solid on all 4 legs when standing on her own. She has a nice, clean pretty neck. I like her forechest and the way she stands solid on her front, with her feet underneath her shoulders as they should be.

All three pups have their attributes and I expect to see more change as we go into the next 2 - 3 weeks. Next week is the BAER hearing test and I am looking forward to that. All 3 pups do hear but an official confirmation of that fact is always welcome!

More news and pics next week. Hope to see you then!




Thursday, October 16, 2014

5 weeks and changing!

Well the puppies are now 5 weeks old and alot has changed. They are curious about mom and her food...


 Wynken checks for leftovers...


They are learning about toys... Blynken checks out the squirrel...


Nod is interested in the rubber duckie..


Here are 5 week pics...







Nod was a bit more cooperative than the girls...




Two more weeks and we head to Boise, ID for BAER hearing tests. Everyone hears but we want to make it official!


Thursday, October 2, 2014

Three weeks and counting!

Wynken, Blynken and Nod turned 3 weeks yesterday and they have changed SO much! No longer little white rats with no spots. No more eyes closed, navigating by trial and error around the puppy pen. They now have spots, eyes are open and they are toddling around the puppy pen like little pros.

We took pictures of them today since yesterday was busy with human appointments and errands. Disclaimer, they are by no means show stackers yet so top lines are not indicative of what they actually are or will be in the weeks to come. At this point our goal was to show how the spotting is coming along and of course show off the cute faces!

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, here they are!




Wynken is our bigger girl. She was the first to be delivered and was very mellow and is just now discovering who she is. She is not fond of having her nails done or of venturing outside the puppy pen. Our goal with this girl is to have her "participate" in those activities more often.




Blynken is our smaller but more adventurous girl. One of my friends has nick named her Margarita as she is a bit feisty and has an opinion about everything! Blynken, when not eating or sleeping, can be found telling her brother and sister that she is in charge and struts around the play pen making sure they are doing whatever she wants them to do.




Nod is the only boy and he likes it that way too! He was the only one in his horn of his mother's uterus so he had over two months of having a room all to himself. He is about as big as Wynken in size and weight but is willing, most of the time, to let little sister Blynken push him around. Nod is very mellow and is pretty amenable to whatever we want to do with him.

Well there they are, the three CH Jack x Star puppies. Im sure there will be many changes by our next post. See you next week!

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Wynken, Blynken and Nod

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
Sailed off in a wooden shoe —
Sailed on a river of crystal light,
Into a sea of dew.
"Where are you going, and what do you wish?"
The old moon asked the three.
"We have come to fish for the herring fish
That live in this beautiful sea;
Nets of silver and gold have we!"
Said Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.

 Wynken
Blynken 
Nod

The old moon laughed and sang a song,
As they rocked in the wooden shoe,
And the wind that sped them all night long
Ruffled the waves of dew.
The little stars were the herring fish
That lived in that beautiful sea —
"Now cast your nets wherever you wish —
Never afeard are we";
So cried the stars to the fishermen three:
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.

All night long their nets they threw
To the stars in the twinkling foam —
Then down from the skies came the wooden shoe,
Bringing the fishermen home;
'Twas all so pretty a sail it seemed
As if it could not be,
And some folks thought 'twas a dream they'd dreamed
Of sailing that beautiful sea —
But I shall name you the fishermen three:
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.

Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,
And Nod is a little head,
And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies
Is a wee one's trundle-bed.
So shut your eyes while mother sings
Of wonderful sights that be,
And you shall see the beautiful things
As you rock in the misty sea,
Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three:
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.

 Wynken and Blynken
Nod